Papers of a nuclear physicist, biologist, and advocate of global arms control. The majority of the materials in the Szilard
papers date from the late 1930s to the early 1960s -- the period following Szilard's move to the U.S. Materials dating from
earlier years include patents, personal documents, and a number of letters. The collection best documents Szilard's work on
the atomic bomb and his efforts on behalf of arms control and world cooperation. Prominent correspondents include Enrico Fermi,
J. William Fulbright, Otto Hahn, Hubert Humphrey, Frederic Joliot-Curie, Linus Pauling, Michael Polanyi, Jonas Salk, Edward
Teller, Harold C. Urey, and Eugene P. Wigner. Also included are copies of correspondence with Albert Einstein. The accessions
processed in 2000 compliment the first accession and contain further correspondence with prominent individuals, including
Leslie Groves, Frederic Joliot-Curie, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and Max von Laue. Also included are letters (1936-1960),
in German, from Szilard to Gertrude Weiss Szilard, his wife, and annotated drafts of the letter written with Albert Einstein
to President Roosevelt disclosing developments in nuclear fission. The papers include recent articles on Szilard, documentation
and memorabilia from programs and celebrations of his life and work, and materials related to Gertrude Weiss Szilard.

Background

Leo Szilard is best known for his pioneering work in nuclear physics, his participation in the Manhattan Project during World
War II, and his opposition to the nuclear arms race in the postwar era.

The audio-visual materials in the collection are restricted; patrons must request user copies be produced. Fragile documents
have been restricted for preservation reasons; photocopies can be found in place of these originals.